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A new study finds that student loan delinquency rates are skyrocketing.
Nearly 25% of student loan borrowers with repayments due are now in default, up from about 9% in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term, according to a report released Friday by the left-leaning think tank Century Foundation.
Approximately 7.9 million student loan borrowers fell into delinquency in the first three quarters of 2025 alone, the study authors wrote. For its analysis, the foundation used data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample of 2% of U.S. adults with credit records.
Researchers said the cause of the sharp increase in delinquency was the policies of the Trump administration during his second term.
“By cutting off access to the very programs that help borrowers in need, Donald Trump is sending millions of people into a spiral of debt, destroying their credit scores and locking them out of homeownership, car purchases, and other life milestones,” said Peter Glanville, a fellow at the Century Foundation and the study’s lead author.
Ellen Keast, the Department of Education’s higher education spokeswoman, said the Biden administration hid delinquency rates in its relief package for student loan borrowers.
“The idea that student loan delinquency is suddenly going to increase is false,” Keast said. “In exchange for expanding so-called pandemic-related flexibilities that ended five years ago, the Trump administration is once again reporting complete and accurate data on student loan repayments.”
According to the Congressional Research Service, more than 42 million Americans have student loans, totaling more than $1.6 trillion in debt.
Borrowers are facing repayment or credit problems
Student loan borrowers have recently faced a flurry of changes to their lending programs, including the end of the Biden administration’s Savings for Worthy Education (SAVE) program. The plan was designed to be the most affordable repayment plan ever, but it faced Republican-led legal challenges and was ultimately blocked in court.
For about five years, beginning with the coronavirus pandemic, student loan borrowers who missed payments were also protected from collection efforts and negative credit reports. That relief has now expired.
The foundation estimates that nearly 2 million student loan borrowers who defaulted on their loans had their credit scores lower, with the average score dropping from 680 to 580. Credit scores, which affect people’s ability and cost to borrow, typically range from 300 to 850, with around 670 and above considered good.
The Education Ministry announced last year that it would begin collection efforts against defaulters, but enforcement efforts have been repeatedly halted.
Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz said the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts are also likely exacerbating student loan borrowers’ repayment woes.
In March, Trump officials fired thousands of Education Department employees, including those who assisted debtors. The administration also aims to scale back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s enforcement efforts and reduce the agency’s staffing and funding, although many of these measures are being challenged in court. The CFPB oversees student loan servicers and fights fraud in the lending field.
“If you eliminate the people who helped the borrowers face financial hardship, is it any surprise that these borrowers face problems in servicing their debt?” Kantrowitz said.
More than 600,000 federal student loan holders have not yet had their applications for affordable repayment plans accepted, the Department of Education revealed in a recent court filing. More than 86,000 borrowers are awaiting the department’s decision on student loan forgiveness.
Who are the struggling student loan borrowers?
Student loan delinquency rates are particularly high in some southern states, according to a Century Foundation analysis.
The analysis found that in Louisiana and Mississippi, about 40% of federal student loan borrowers with payments due are in default, the highest percentage in the nation.
Researchers found that black borrowers struggled the most.
About 20% of white student loan borrowers are past due by the third quarter of 2025, compared to more than 48% of black student loan borrowers and about 30% of Hispanics.
Why things could get even worse for student loan borrowers
President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which overhauls the student loan system, will likely make it harder for people to pay their bills, consumer advocates say. The legislation phases out some affordable repayment plans and extends the terms of others.
According to the Institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit organization that promotes college affordability, the median U.S. household of four has an income of $81,000, but the change in the law could cause monthly bills to jump from $36 to $440.
